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Yale School of Public Health Announces Five-Year B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. Program

Yale School of Public Health and Yale College come together to produce a new five-year joint program, The Select Program in Public Health.

The Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) is proud to announce The Select Program in Public Health, a five-year B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. joint program designed for Yale College students. The Select Program offers undergraduate students interested in the field of public health the opportunity to earn a Bachelor’s degree from Yale College while earning an M.P.H. degree from YSPH.

The program provides students the flexibility of combining an undergraduate major with a complementary M.P.H. concentration. It is designed to impart a broad understanding of the factors that shape the health of populations as well as to equip students with evaluative tools for determining how health shortfalls might be addressed effectively. The program complements interests in related professions such as medicine, law, and management and offers socially meaningful application for theoretical training in both the physical and social sciences. "The Select Program in Public Health has been developed over the past two years, guided by the Education Committee at the School of Public Health, and benefiting from feedback by the Dean's Office at Yale College and the Directors of Undergraduate Studies from several departments,” said Mark Schlesinger, the Director of Undergraduate Studies for YSPH and Professor in YSPH’s Division of Health Policy and Administration. While students majoring in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities are encouraged by the program to apply, the program is open to applicants from all undergraduate majors who are committed to improving the health of the public.

In addition to completing a standard Yale College major, students will be enrolled full-time at YSPH in their fifth-year where they will finish the remaining ten course curriculum and a master’s thesis. Students will also complete a public health internship. “Our goal is to allow students to translate ideas from the classroom into real-world settings involving health policies, health-promoting interventions, and targeted research addressing population health needs,” commented Schlesinger. “Though just beginning, the program has elicited considerable excitement among undergrads and a lot of enthusiasm from faculty all across the Yale campus."

Yale College students interested in the B.A.-B.S./M.P.H. program should apply for admission in the spring of their sophomore year. In this initial year of implementation, juniors will also be allowed to apply with the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies from their major.

For further information on the program, please visit The Select Program in Public Health Web page or contact the YSPH Office of Student Affairs.

—Story by Marcie Foley